"It was nothing, really. Soldiers and guards were trying to capture someone, so no one was allowed to leave town."

Ye Liu briefly told them what he knew. He did not have the details anyway.

Ye Ling still had more to ask, but Liu Duo cut him off. "Great, then. Liuzi, go take a bath. There's hot water."

She did not want to know how or what had happened or who was caught. She did not want to know anything, as long as her family came back safely!

When Liu Duo said that, Ye Ling realized that now was not the best time to ask questions. He could always ask the next day.

So he followed up with, "Yes, Ling, you should go bathe. It's late."

"Alright, you all should head back upstairs to rest now. I'll do the same after a bath," he nodded. He felt great knowing he was being cared for, especially now that they had a wife in the house! It was a very sweet and blissful feeling!

Once Ye Yang reached home, he went to the well, took a bucket, and moved to the kitchen, where he fetched hot water.

As he walked towards the bathroom, he called for Liu, reminding him it was his turn to bathe.

"Go on then, Liu," Ye Mo said before turning to the other two with him. "Wife, Ling, you two should head up first. Don't wait around. It's bedtime."

He and Ye Yang had to soak their feet.

Ye Ling and Liu Duo nodded with no objections. It was indeed late.

When they got to Liu Duo's room, Ye Ling lit another oil lamp. "Duo Er, you rest now. Mo will be up in a moment. I'm heading to my room."

It was Ye Mo's turn to share a bed with Liu Duo tonight.

Ye Mo had allowed Ye Ling to spend the night with Liu Duo instead, but he felt that he had been spending quite a lot of time with her previously, so he thought he should not make his brother wait any longer.

Er...

Liu Duo grew speechless. "Ling, don't go back down. When they went looking for Liuzi, Mo must have said he wanted you to stay with me tonight, so he probably won't be coming up."

To prevent Ye Ling from talking any further, Liu Duo added, "Ling, let's not discuss this anymore. Time to sleep!"

Then she pulled Ye Ling towards her and together they fell onto the bed.

Caught off guard, Ye Ling found himself on the bed, and Liu Duo had proceeded to take off his clothes such that he was left in his underwear."

Blushing, he coughed. "Duo Er, you haven't taken off yours."

Liu Duo, already exhausted, yawned and smiled. "Ling, why don't you help me with that? Since I helped you."

They'd been an official couple for quite a while now, and they had consummated quite a few times, but Ye Ling could still become shy!

Perhaps he was a more sensitive kind of person. Regardless of how familiar they were with each other, even if they were just performing slightly intimate acts and not consummating, he would still feel shy about it!

"Alright," Ye Ling said, still red in the face, as he skillfully took off Liu Duo's dress.

And then Ye Ling blew out the oil lamp placed on the bedside drawer and the two fell asleep cuddling each other.

At night, there were always some who could sleep soundly, while others had difficulty falling asleep. Dongfang Ming, on his journey back to the capital, was the latter.

Dongfang Ming was already in another town, spending the night in one of the taverns. He lay in bed but could not seem to fall asleep. And so he got up and stood in front of the window in his silky white nightclothes, his hair already down. He let himself space out and stood there for an hour or two.